Heavy clutch effort after long drives???
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Senior Member
Joined: May 2000
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From: Madisonville, KY
Heavy clutch effort after long drives???
Hey guys,
I've noticed a recurring problem with my '98 SC Lariat 5-speed 4x2 on extended trips. My normal home-to-work drive of about 12 miles apparently isn't long enough to make it show up. But if I drive, say, 30 or 40 miles or more at a time, my clutch effort gets increasingly harder. We're talking maybe 3 or 4 times the normal amount of pressure to push down. It reminds me of trying to push something through molasses. Even the shifter gets the same kind of feeling; it takes much more effort to move the stick. If I've made one of these trips at night I might even still have the symptoms the next morning when I crank it up to go to work, but during the 12 mile drive it'll free up again back to normal. What kind of problem is this? No one I've talked to has ever heard of it before. The truck has about 68k miles on it, plenty of hydraulic clutch fluid, and a recent tranny fluid change. Is this normal behavior for these stick trucks? Is my clutch going out? It doesn't seem to be slipping. If anybody has any ideas, please send them my way. Thanks.
I've noticed a recurring problem with my '98 SC Lariat 5-speed 4x2 on extended trips. My normal home-to-work drive of about 12 miles apparently isn't long enough to make it show up. But if I drive, say, 30 or 40 miles or more at a time, my clutch effort gets increasingly harder. We're talking maybe 3 or 4 times the normal amount of pressure to push down. It reminds me of trying to push something through molasses. Even the shifter gets the same kind of feeling; it takes much more effort to move the stick. If I've made one of these trips at night I might even still have the symptoms the next morning when I crank it up to go to work, but during the 12 mile drive it'll free up again back to normal. What kind of problem is this? No one I've talked to has ever heard of it before. The truck has about 68k miles on it, plenty of hydraulic clutch fluid, and a recent tranny fluid change. Is this normal behavior for these stick trucks? Is my clutch going out? It doesn't seem to be slipping. If anybody has any ideas, please send them my way. Thanks.
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Joined: Mar 1999
Posts: 66
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From: SD, USA
I have it too!
My truck does the exact same thing! A few weeks ago I drove 850 miles in one day and the next morning it was hard to push to the clutch to the floor. After a couple of shifts, everything back to normal. This was not the first time that this has happened. Adding to the weirdness, this truck has the "notchy" feeling transmission, but after driving it for a couple of 100 miles, it goes away for a few days.
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Senior Member
Joined: May 2000
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From: Madisonville, KY
Hey guys,
Thanks for the replies! I'm still throwing the question to everybody I can think of, and I'll let you know if I get a good answer. Huckster, I haven't seen many SC 4x4 V8 5-speeds; your truck is probably as rare as my '98 Lariat V8 5-speed 4x2. Man, if you pulled 850 miles in one day, what were you averaging? 100 mph? That's a LOT of miles in one day, or even two for that matter. Your backside and legs can take more abuse than mine can. Write me back if you come across anything. Thanks again. Later.
Thanks for the replies! I'm still throwing the question to everybody I can think of, and I'll let you know if I get a good answer. Huckster, I haven't seen many SC 4x4 V8 5-speeds; your truck is probably as rare as my '98 Lariat V8 5-speed 4x2. Man, if you pulled 850 miles in one day, what were you averaging? 100 mph? That's a LOT of miles in one day, or even two for that matter. Your backside and legs can take more abuse than mine can. Write me back if you come across anything. Thanks again. Later.
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Joined: Mar 1999
Posts: 66
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From: SD, USA
Fordman3,
Did you also notice that my truck is a SC with an 8' (long) box? Makes it even more rare! Add in the deep wedgewood blue that was only available for a couple of years and it gets even more rare. I ordered this truck from the factory, so I got exactly what I wanted.
As for the 850 miles in one stretch, I average about 75-80 miles an hour. (This was with a 9 week old baby girl in the back seat, made the trip real interesting) My longest stretch in one haul in this truck was 990 miles, left Montana at 8:00 a.m., arrived in South Dakota at 1:00 a.m. The only time we stopped was for gas and the bathroom, didn't even stop for food (that's what gas stations are for). Could have made it in better time, but it was in December and I had to fight bad roads for the first 450 miles. And yes, my butt was very sore.
Did you also notice that my truck is a SC with an 8' (long) box? Makes it even more rare! Add in the deep wedgewood blue that was only available for a couple of years and it gets even more rare. I ordered this truck from the factory, so I got exactly what I wanted.
As for the 850 miles in one stretch, I average about 75-80 miles an hour. (This was with a 9 week old baby girl in the back seat, made the trip real interesting) My longest stretch in one haul in this truck was 990 miles, left Montana at 8:00 a.m., arrived in South Dakota at 1:00 a.m. The only time we stopped was for gas and the bathroom, didn't even stop for food (that's what gas stations are for). Could have made it in better time, but it was in December and I had to fight bad roads for the first 450 miles. And yes, my butt was very sore.
Last edited by Huckster; Jun 12, 2002 at 06:32 PM.